COAST cancels all bus service Friday

Friday

Feb 8, 2013 at 3:15 AM

DOVER — Due to the nature and timing of the impending nor’easter bearing down on the Seacoast all COAST bus service has been canceled for Friday, Feb. 8.

“We feel this is the most prudent decision we could make based on the latest information we have available to us,” said Rad Nichols, COAST executive director. Nichols continued, “While we understand conditions earlier in the day may start out calmer, the predicted rapid deterioration of conditions in the afternoon mean that our operating day would be coming to a close during blizzardlike conditions, at which point our employees would still need to get home safely once they park their bus.”

COAST is advising passengers to be prepared for a delayed start to the service day, delays once on the road, an early curtailment or even a service cancellation on Saturday as well. Staff will be closely monitoring the weather forecasts and will make announcements regarding Saturday service as soon as reasonable.

Once COAST is once again able to resume service, as typical under the predicted conditions, we may experience some delays. , “Please be patient as we do everything we can to get you safely to your destination. If you need to travel after the storm, please be safe on your way to and from bus stops. Do not wait for the bus on top of snow banks! Find the nearest driveway opening and make sure you are visible to the bus operator,” Nichols said.

If passengers need call in for an update on a bus status, COAST requests that they listen to the entire phone message instead of just dialing into the dispatcher. The dispatchers will likely be very busy trying to manage the challenges of running a bus service in the midst of a cleanup after the storm.

For updated information on COAST services tune in to area radio and television news outlets. COAST will also be using its website at www.coastbus.org, Facebook page at www.facebook.com/COASTbus and twitter account @COASTbus to provide additional updates.